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Monday, May 14, 2012

Pancho's

The other day, I needed a quick lunch and stopped into
Pancho’s based on the fact that I have heard a lot of good things about it ever
since I started writing this blog. I got
two tacos—one fish and one pastor and a side of chips (you have to order them additionally)
(with a soda it was around $7). You
order at the register, but then they prepare the food and call your number when
it’s done. Then there is a salsa bar
where you can doctor up your food to your taste. There is much more than salsa there though—although
there are several different kinds ranging in spiciness. The bar also includes chopped onions, chopped
cilantro, lime wedges, pico de gallo and a tasty avocado crema.

My favorite item was probably the fish taco actually—it was
sliced deep fried fish in two soft corn tortillas. That was pretty much it as far as the way
they served it. I added cilantro and
onions and a ton of lime and some of the avocado crema. It was seriously good with all my added
flavor. I really liked the crunch from the
fish (which was also quite hot and fresh) and the tortillas were great—warm and
soft, but didn’t fall apart when you ate them.
I could go back and get another one of these right now I think.

The pastor was also good. And in this taco they give you a ton more
meat than in the fish taco. The small
dice of pork was well seasoned throughout and had been sautéed a bit to give it
all a little crispy edge. An interesting
component to this one was that there were also some sautéed onions in the mix
as well as tiny dices of sautéed pineapple which I have never had in a taco
before (and apparently based on some quick research, is often included as a
part of the traditional marinade/accompaniments for pastor). While pineapple is not traditionally my favorite
flavor, I enjoyed the slightly sweet/slightly sour acidic flavor with the
savory and tender pork pieces. And I
really liked that they were so small that they didn’t overwhelm the taste of
everything together (which I think pineapple can pretty easily do). The bits were firm, almost as firm as the
pork, and the same size. It really made
for an interesting combo. I also added
raw onions and cilantro as well as a bit of the green salsa from the bar. Like I said, this one had a lot more meat to
it—so much that it spilled out from the taco quite a bit.

I liked the chips just okay.
I appreciated that they are frying their own and they had that kind of
bubbly texture to them, but they needed to be salted for one (which I did), but
they really just didn’t seem to have anything exciting going for them. Maybe it was partly because I got a bowl of
the mild salsa (which was very mild)
to dip them into and I probably should’ve gone with a spicier one. They also were a little too greasy—many of
the chips still had visibly shiny oil on them.
They certainly give you a generous amount of them though.

There are a lot of interesting things on the menu and I know
a lot of you guys like this place. So
tell me what you order when you go there.

3 comments:

I love Pancho's. It's my favorite Mexican food in Indy. SO sad the Michigan St location closed. I like to order the Alambres, Pancho’s Chimichanga,Tostada de Camaron, and their fresh made Guac. Got to love the sala bar. It all reminds me of Mexican food I've had when traveling in the southwest.

Pancho's is also my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. Now that I've moved a little farther from it, I will have to find ways to make stops there. My favorite items are the al pastor tacos and the mole enchiladas. Their hottest salsa provides an excellent kick to the tacos. I'll have to try the fish tacos when I go next time. They sound great!

I have had the pastor tacos at Pancho's many times and love them. I also really like that the pineapple is diced so small, it gives the dish come kick without overwhelming it with pineapple. I have never tried the fish tacos and now I definitely will. Also, we are pretty much out of soup season now but their soups are really really good. Great broth bases.

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